Censorship of High School Literature: A Study of the Incidents of Censorship Involving J. D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye."

Symula, James Francis

An examination of the omnipresent problem of censorship, especially as it affects public high school literature programs, emphasizes the need for book selection policies and formal procedures for handling a complaint against a book. This study concerning censorship of "The Catcher in the Rye" may prove useful to school personnel in combatting or preventing censorship by its review of studies of censorship incidents together with the critical literature dealing with "Catcher". Four major conclusions of the study are that (1) censorship is based on ignorance; (2) in choosing classroom literature, the teacher has tremendous responsibility to the student; (3) English teachers must lead the fight against censorship; and (4) there is a great need for honest reporting of facts surrounding an incident of censorship. (Author/JMC)